


Chapter Thirty-Four: Cadence to Arms

by CavalierConvoy



Series: MTMTE Series One: Shoot Straight with a Crooked Gun [35]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers Generation One, Transformers Generation Two, Transformers: Beast Machines, Transformers: Beast Wars
Genre: Astronomy, Gen, IN SPACE!, Other, Pre-Battle, Rescue Missions, Technobabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 05:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3638634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CavalierConvoy/pseuds/CavalierConvoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part Two of Ten Seconds to Sunrise: The crew of the <i>Little Revenge</i> converge with the rest of the Wreckers on board the <i>Xantium</i>. The mission: protect an engineering brigade in rescuing an escape ship from a science vessel, believed to be attacked in the Betelgeuse system by Legion forces. But the presence of Kup, Springer, and Perceptor brings up a disturbing revelation: the nations of Earth had come together and banished the Autobots from their planet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chapter Thirty-Four: Cadence to Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Hark, when the night is falling  
>  Hear, hear the pipes are calling  
>  Loudly and proudly calling down through the glen  
>  There where the hills are sleeping  
>  now feel the blood a leaping  
>  high as the spirits of the old highland men  
>  \--["Cadence to Arms"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k6LKAKbCuE) is an instrumental piece by Dropkick Murphys, from _Do or Die_ , a rework of "Scotland: The Brave" (above lyrics).

_Xantium_  
Betelgeuse System  
Five Stels Ago

The briefing room was standing room only; Artemis wedged herself between Sandstorm and Cavalier. Whirl stuck to her back; Roadbuster had made a comment when she first joined up about how the empurata Autobot had decided she was his new best friend, which translated to 'keep an optic on him at all times'. In front of her was Dipstick, a dishevelled engineer sporting a perpetual layer of grime.

"Since when did you join up?" Artemis questioned the stout sapper.

He harrumphed. "You think I'd willingly join the lot'o'ya crazy piston-chompin' nutjobs? We got assigned to break down Legion tech, thinkin' the Eee-Gee were escortin' us. Shoulda known better."

"If the Eee-Gee weren't more afraid to get their finish dinged, that is," Artemis smirked.

"Bah!" Dipstick crossed his arms over his chest. "Better pompous-afted pretty 'bots than suicidal clutch-munchers."

Artemis rapped the top of his helm. "I'll remember that when I'm pulling your aft out of trouble."

"All right, simmer down, gasholes!" Roadbuster snapped, taking the front. There was no dais or stage for him to stand, but the conversation in the room petered to nil upon his order. "Three sols ago, the exploration vessel _Adaptus' Curiosity_ sent a subspace distress signal, which transmitted for only three cycles before cut. From intel we were able to obtain, they were in the system to study the impending supernova of the parent star and the effects upon the planetary system. But I ain't a scientist and that's boring slag, so I'll skip to the important parts: they were attacked by ships that match Legion description."

"Let's kill some 'Cons!" Whirl whooped; others throughout the crowd joined in.

Roadbuster allowed five clicks of frenzy before calling for attention. "Shut it — I ain't done yet! Before they were attacked, they had located a distress beacon emanating from another vessel on the planet of Betelgeuse IV. Though we lost the signal for the  _Curiosity,_ we managed to localise the other distress call. The thing is, we'll have to go through a squadron of Legion to get to the vessel, and apparently, we've got another challenge involved. I'm turning it over to our resident nerd, and I swear to Primus, if any of you so much as start anything while he's talking, I'll bash your Primus-damned head in -- I mean it, Whirl!"

"Perceptor," Artemis whispered within earshot of her team. "Probably why he's here."

"Do you think he stopped blaming himself for Rod?" Cavalier questioned, keeping her voice down under the conversation surrounding them.

"Short answer: not a chance," Artemis answered.

"Question," Sandstorm beckoned, "seeing that I didn't spend too much time in Autobot City, but when did Perceptor start carrying a sniper rifle?"

" _Nani_?" Cavalier demanded, climbing atop of Dipstick's shoulders before he could protest. "Knock it off, it's more action than you'll ever see, so you might as well enjoy it."

"Don't be getting comfortable!" Dipstick snarled, hand on his visor to keep it from falling onto the bridge of his nose. "I got better things to do than act as your perch!"

"Blah, blah, blah; whine, whine, whine," the white and black Autobot rifled back. "Holy frag, now that's a sniper rifle! Art, I want Percy's sniper rifle! Get me Percy's sniper rifle! Please?"

Whirl took her spot before anyone else could saddle up next to Artemis, as someone filled the space behind her. "How's the hunt going, girl?" Kup questioned, clapping her shoulder.

"You tell me, old man," she chuckled; it was good to be amongst friends again. "One of our leads brought us here at the right time. May or may not be coincidence. I have Skyfire investigating the anomaly while me, Cav, and Sandy help out on the front."

"May I please have your attention?" The soft-spoken scientist questioned; Artemis would place chits on the only reason the room quieted was because of the impressive rifle slung over his shoulder. " _α Ori_ , colloquially known as Betelgeuse, is a red supergiant, ejecting its corona into space for the past million stellar cycles. From a scientific standpoint, we are at a unique opportunity to observe the death of a star that is by all accounts and studies younger than our race as a whole — "

"As much as I personally love hearing you explain things, Percy," Artemis called out, "but three-quarters of this group are only concerned about one thing —"

"Yeah, killing 'Cons!" Whirl interrupted. A cheer rose from the masses.

"Things went south while you were out," Kup hissed. "I'll explain afterwards."

She nodded, keeping her optics on the stoic red and black scientist in the front; he met her gaze — she shrugged as to convey an apology — and nodded.

"Yes, of course. _α Ori_ IV, within the last million stellar cycles, lost most of its nitrogen-and-methane atmosphere due to the coronal ejection of its parent star. Although radiation levels are within the normal perimeters at the present moment, we will be equipped with radiation shields in the case of a solar flare or ejection, as the planet's magnetosphere is virtually nonexistent, in part due to its gravitational lock with its parent star. We will be currently subjected to the planet's winter; activity on the surface is concentrated in the twilight areas, specifically on the dark side of the planet, sixty-two-point-five-seven degrees north latitude, and one-hundred-seventy-seven-point-two-eight degrees east longitude. Which leads us to the next order of business pertaining to the situation — "

Whirl made a noise somewhere between a groan and a growl, hopping from one foot to another. "How come you get to interrupt him and we can't?" he hissed, glaring his single optic at Artemis.

" — is the composition of the planet itself. The current surface temperature is registering at negative one-hundred-ninety-one-point-five degrees centigrade; our target's geographical location includes a dormant cryovolcano and a methane lake, currently in its frozen state; with fluctuations of plus-minus twenty-seven-point-seven degrees on average —"

Whirl threw his head back, pantomiming a scream, his shoulders heaving, before spinning, banging his head against Artemis's shoulder mount. "Make it stop, boss! Make it stop!" he pleaded, his voice thin.

"—meaning that we could have a potential issue with the boiling point of methane at negative-one-hundred-sixty-one-point-forty-nine degrees centigrade when using incendiary weapons in the vicinity of the lake — "

Whirl perked up, swinging his head to the front. "I heard 'incendiary weapons'."

"Yeah, we can't use them, else we all go boom," Artemis translated.

The spindly Autobot whined and slammed his head back on her shoulder. "This mission sucks!"

"Is this gashole bothering you?" Kup questioned Artemis.

"I deal with Octane and Cavalier arguing on a regular basis. This is a walk in the park."

"Which leads to our third — "

This time, Whirl was not subtle. He gave an anguished cry. "Why, Primus? Why?"

Artemis jabbed her elbow into his side.

"—and final matter: the distress beacon picked up by _Adaptus' Curiosity._ While optimistic in locating the crew, the reality is that we lost contact with the ship three cycles after its own distress signal stopped transmitting. Upon entering the planetary system, we picked up another distress beacon. We have ascertained that this beacon originated from an escape pod of indeterminate origin. The contents of this pod has yet to be determined, but the beacon had been modified with a common Cybertronian frequency utilising a channel reserved for scientific exploration and inquiry. At this point, we have confirmation that there are life signs coming from the pod, but the solar radiation makes it difficult to pinpoint anything more regarding the occupant, other than the life support systems are still functional."

"Thus explaining why us sappers are on this Primus-forsaken mission," Dipstick muttered, shrugging his shoulders to jostle the Minibot. "Okay, Brat, go find another 'bot to annoy!"

"More like take a bath — dude, ever heard of detailing?" Cavalier balanced precariously before making the leap between Dipstick and Sandstorm, who was marginally more accepting of the Minibot's antics.

"Be nice, Cav; you could be teamed up with him," Artemis reminded.

"Please put her with the snipers," Dipstick moaned.

"You heard him," a booming voice brought everyone's attention front and centre. Artemis whipped her gaze to Kup, then back to front, where the green and gold triple-changer took center stage. "We've got four squads: the major one is our heavy hitters, taking on the Legion head on; two support squads, aerial and snipers; finally, security detail, to keep breakaways from reaching the engineers while they work. We hit the Legion sappers hard, break down their equipment and salvage what's usable, and rescue survivors."

"What's Springer doing here?" Cavalier jumped down from Sandstorm's shoulders. "Hey, Gramps, what's Springer doing here?"

"Same reason I am, scraplet," he grumbled, readjusting the cy-gar in his mouth. That was a new addition, and although Cavalier might not have been old enough to recognise the drug administration device, it was enough of a flag to keep questions about it to a minimum. "We got reassigned."

"Then who's taking care of Autobot City?" Cavalier demanded.

"Autobot City's been disbanded by order of the Senate," Artemis answered. "Sky got the news just before we received orders to join up with the Xantium. The Earth governments voted to kick us off planet."

Silenced by the information, Cavalier's expression could only be described as hurt. "But..." she looked at Kup, then Sandstorm, then back at Artemis. "But I liked it there."

"Quite a few of us did, kid," Kup sighed. "But we can't be where we're not wanted, and already we had overstayed our welcome by dragging them into our war."

Springer was naming off squad leaders; Artemis's and Kup's came up. "In the officers' mess, ASAP. Rest of you get ready for mission start in two megacycles. Any Wrecker with medical or engineering training should join security detail."

"Your call, Sandstorm: front lines or medical," Artemis muttered.

"Your backside," Sandstorm retorted. "I made a deal with you, no one else."

Artemis wasted no time elbowing through the crowd, with Kup in her shadow, joining up with Roadbuster up in front.

"Great job, they did, making a nice wide opening in Sol space," Roadbuster grumbled. "I don't know why Optimus didn't left them to their own devices. Instead, 'hey, yeah, we'll benefit from your technology — oh, by the way, we don't need you anymore.' Honestly, Kup, why?"

"We still have allies there," Kup retorted. "And we're maintaining observation bases and warning systems in place. With the Quints in close proximity to Sol space, we didn't leave them completely high and dry."

"Hey, Art!" Springer slung an arm around her shoulders for a quick hug. "Glad you could make it! How's the search going?"

"Crossed paths with you guys, that's what." Artemis grinned. "Can we get clearance for Skyfire and Oc — Tankor — to continue a scientific survey of the area in the Little Revenge? Sky's calculations brought us to a possible ... don't know what to call it ... rip?" She shrugged. "I don't pretend to understand it."

"A rip in spacetime is quite possible in the event of a type-two supernova," Perceptor joined them in step. "I had weighed the possibilities that the _α Ori_ system could yield significant data on your primary mission. Perhaps after completing our current mission, I may exchange dialogue with Skyfire on the progress of his research."

"Yeah, of course," she nodded. "And, sorry about Whirl."

"Can someone remind me why we haven't killed him yet?" Roadbuster groaned.

"I thought I kept my explanation of the situation brief and to the point," Perceptor admitted.

"For you? Yes, you did," Springer agreed.

"So, few things happened since I left Earth?" Artemis glanced at Perceptor. "Taking up something a little more than target practice?"

"When we have more time and less pressing matters, I will bring you up to speed of current events," the red and black Autobot replied. "But to answer your intended question, I've joined the active roster."

"You owe me a story and I owe you a litre," Artemis flicked a smile.

"Another thing," Springer kept his voice low, "is that we're not supposed to be here. Technically, our request to send aid is 'pending'. The _Xantium_ wasn't exactly cleared for the mission; we had to pull strings to come out here, thus the engineers, and I didn't expect to find you in our vicinity. We have friends in high places covering for us, but we need to make this quick. Also, and I know you're going to butt heads with me on this, Art, but hear me out: I want you to lead the security detail for the sappers. I don't want you anywhere near the front lines. The Senate as a whole has got a scraplet up their tailpipe ever since your outburst the last time you were in Iacon. There's a chance that we might have Elite Guard coming down on us, and if they find you with us, we'll lose any chance to find Rod."

"I thought Matrix-bearers had diplomatic immunity," Roadbuster muttered.

"Only if the public knows about them," Kup groused. "The official word is that Elita-One has it. And just how did you know about that?"

"He tricked me," Artemis smirked, tapping the handle of the gold and blue hammer on her back. "Interesting things in the storage lockers, you know."

"Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that," Kup muttered. "Looked a bit too fancy for your usual tastes."

"No one else was using it," Roadbuster shrugged.

"Story for a litre, old man," Artemis chided. "You know the rules. And I prefer 'courier'. It's more poetic."

"Good Primus, is that the Forge of Solus Prime?!" someone exclaimed from behind them. Perceptor winced, covering his face with a hand.

"A copy, actually, found in a desecrated temple in Kaon just before the Clampdown," Artemis retorted, practised; it was not the first time she had been asked that question. "None of the near-mythic powers, all of the beat down capabilities." She caught Springer's gaze — _damage control —_ and spun to face the newcomer, a light blue and grey Autobot with a yellow face mask, large yellow optics, and a jet mode — a lightweight as Wreckers went. And judging by Perceptor's annoyance, a liability. "Friend of yours, Perce?"

"Contemporary," Perceptor answered, just as the newcomer nodded with vigour. "Artemis, this is Brainstorm, a weapons engineer and consultant from the Ministry of Defence. He had developed the radiation shielding we will be using planetside, and will be ... advising ... our situation regarding the Legion Decepticons' mining equipment."

"Not to mention monitoring ways to create an incendiary weapon that would be practical on planets with volatile atmospheres. From the _Xantium_ , of course; it would be a shame to lose the head developer of such an important department of the Autobot Military. Oh! I got it! Phase shift grenades! If I could get my servos on a warp coil, I'm certain I could whip something up for the mission—"

"Modest, too," Artemis gave Perceptor a sympathetic look as she about-faced. To Springer, she muttered, "Note: do not let him and Cav in the same room."

"A reminder, Brainstorm, that no weapons testing are to be conducted on this mission," Perceptor stressed. "You are here to monitor the radiation shielding and the breakdown of Legion technology."

"And let's not forget _Adaptus' Curiosity_ and the escape pod," Brainstorm pointed out. "The escape pod especially — very little is available on its origin. The fact that it is transmitting on our frequencies is doubly interesting."

"Brainstorm, can you supervise the briefing on the radiation shields in the main hold?" Springer questioned. "I'm certain everyone needs explanation on how they work."

"Absolutely!" the jet Autobot snapped to attention, breaking from the group.

Once around the corner, Springer sighed in relief. "You owe me, Percy."

"Might I point out that your tactic was beneficial to the group as a whole, not just to myself," Perceptor countered. "Therefore, to use the colloquial: 'I don't owe you anything'."

"So High Command sent him?" Artemis questioned, arching a brow.

"Yes and no," Springer gritted his teeth.

"He's got no love for High Command, or the Senate," Kup continued. "The Ethics Committee keeps shutting him down on developing past the concept stage."

"The so-called 'Ethics Committee' is a farce," the blue and black Autobot groused, crossing her arms over her chest. "We're supposed to be neutralising the threat, not offering it a bouquet."

Kup chuckled, a dark sound deep within his chest. "When this mission came up, Brainstorm was tapped to be the liaison to the Ministry of Defence in regards to the Legion capabilities and to reverse engineer captured tech. I think the Senate was hoping for him to be one of the fifty-eight percent, personally."

Artemis's lip curled into a sneer. Annoying as his introduction was, she would not allow anyone to be in the same boat she had been all those stels ago. "I don't know about you guys," she grumbled, "but let's focus on proving them wrong. I didn't join this outfit to become a statistic."

NEXT CHAPTER:   
_Shoot Straight with a Crooked Gun_ : Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful  
_Ten Seconds to Sunrise:_ Dissident Aggressor 


End file.
